Billie Jean Horton (
née Jones; born June 6, 1933) is an American country-music singer-songwriter and former music promoter who is best known for her high profile marriages, first to iconic country musician and singer-songwriter
Hank Williams in 1952 until 1953 and subsequently to singer
Johnny Horton from 1953 until 1960.
Biography
Horton was the daughter of a police chief from
Bossier City, Louisiana. She divorced her first husband Harrison Eshleman when she was introduced to Hank Williams by her then-boyfriend, country singer
Faron Young
Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...
.
[John Prime]
Merry widow of country legends
, ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', September 20, 1987. They married in a private ceremony in
Minden, Louisiana, on October 18, 1952, then repeated their vows before sold-out audiences at two Williams concerts at the Baton Rouge High School gymnasium and the
Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans, Louisiana.
She was 19 years old at the time of her marriage with Williams.
Williams
died
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
from heart failure on
New Year's Day, 1953, five days before his daughter
Jett Williams with Bobbie Jett was born. That September, she married country singer
Johnny Horton and became important in promoting his career. They had two daughters, Yanina and Melody, and Horton adopted her daughter Jeri Lynn. Horton died on 5 November 1960, in a traffic collision with a truck, widowing Billie Jean a second time.
She then worked as a recording artist; her record "Ocean of Tears" hit the country top 40 in 1961. She had a relationship with
Johnny Cash (while he was still married to his first wife, Vivian Liberto). Later she married insurance executive Kent Berlin, whom she subsequently divorced.
["She's living off two country music legends"](_blank)
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
in ''Gadsden Times
'' The Gadsden Times '' is a daily newspaper serving Gadsden, Alabama, and the surrounding area in northeastern Alabama.
The Times was owned by Halifax Media Group. Before that, the newspaper was a member of the New York Times Regional Media Gr ...
'', October 1, 1975
In 1971, a judge ruled that despite her divorce from Eshleman not being finalized before her wedding with Williams, she entered the marriage in good faith and thus their union was entitled to a presumption of validity.
Horton became known for her energetic efforts on behalf of the reputations and estates of both of her famous husbands.
As of 2016, she resides in an assisted-living facility and her three daughters live in Shreveport.
Film depiction
Horton is portrayed by actress
Maddie Hasson
Madelaine Hasson (born January 4, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Willa Monday on Fox's television series ''The Finder''. She also co-starred in the ABC Family series '' Twisted''. She starred in the YouTube Premium s ...
in the 2015 biopic film about
Hank Williams' life titled ''
I Saw the Light'', based on ''Hank Williams: The Biography''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Billie Jean
1933 births
Living people
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
Music promoters
People from Bossier City, Louisiana
Singer-songwriters from Louisiana
Country musicians from Louisiana
21st-century American women